Émile Antoine Verpilleux

Émile Antoine Verpilleux MBE (3 March 1888 – 10 September 1964) was an Anglo-Belgian artist who specialised in woodcut printmaking.

[3] Born in Notting Hill, London, to a Belgian father (also called Émile Antoine Verpilleux) and a Scottish mother (Edith Verpilleux, née Beard), he was educated in France for two years at the age of 10, but was otherwise brought up in England.

A commission to illustrate the book The Charm of Beautiful Nonsense, by E Temple Thurston, resulted in more illustration work and gave Verpilleux the financial freedom to spend time developing his woodcut printing techniques.

[4] He served with the rank of Captain[4] in the Royal Air Force in the First World War, was mentioned in despatches and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1919 New Year Honours.

[2] A series of murals Verpilleux painted of 1930s Bermuda that were on display in St. George's Town Hall have been restored after being damaged by Hurricane Fabian.